Under Dash Heater Pictures

Anyone else take some time to fix yours up. i found out mine had an aluminum front face so i polished it painted the rest in rustoleum metal flake paint and had my buddy Kensey do the simple pinstriping.

heres a pic of mine anyone else have any?

 

I have the one form my '46 truck, but it is super rusty. I may restore it, but I will probably try to fit the one fromm the '51 car that I am using the dash from. Those parts are super nice.

 

Here are a couple I'm going to experiment with. They look like space helmets...yeah, where's that bubble top dude, he needs a couple of the "barn find space helmets"!

 

Crap, spaced out and forgot the pics. Earth to Aman, Come in Aman.

 

Aman, What did those heaters come out of? I picked one up at a swap a while back.

 

I'm not sure. I've read that they were in several different models in the 30's. Pretty cool huh?

 

Didn't fix it up but I plan on using it inmy 34. Wish I knew what it came out of.
Clark

 

South Wind gas heaters ... the 2 shown are post-war

 

Here's mine

 

A shitty picture but a cool heater. Is that an oxymoron???

 

I've restored 2 old chevy ones. a 37-38 and a 46 -48. I got a shelf with about 20 more to re-do. couln't find my pics... must have deleted them.

they are like little works of art. with fancy polished aluminum emblems and trim. I like to use the brownish gold hammertone paint from orchard supply, kind of has that old car feeling to it.

 

here's one I did on my old 49 sedan...

 

nice im glad im not the only weirdo puttin a tons of hours for sumthin under the dash. sorry for the weirdo comment .
and are you guys running water valves? wondering how much of a difference it will make with hot water running through it constantly.

 

same thing here but mine was hooked up so i know it didnt have any other levers or parts .
so whats the secret with the water valve guys?

 

Lets hear some retro-fit ideas for electric heaters in these boxes too...
I've got one of the Southwinds and one of the round ones like Tommy posted but the internals are pretty rough.

 

The fan switch normally was 2-speed,which is how the heat is controlled. A water shut-off valve is a good idea in hot weather, commonly available at parts houses is a manual shut-off, but you've gotta get under hood for that, a better choice is one for a 80's Dodge van, uses a cable and has the added benefit of being able to regulate the flow/heat.

Just another tip from yer UNCLEE!

 

Heres the one I did for my Poncho. I used the volume and tone knob of a fender stratocaster for the knobs on the doors.

 

Thanks for the correction 302GMC I don't really know what models they came in cuz I've always seen them out of the car. The Southwind, made by Stewart Warner, was a gasoline fueled heater. That means gas and carbon monoxide in the cab...not good. So, over the next few months I'm going to design/build a retro fit for them that will use the hot water methods we are used to. Much safer and so far I haven't found any reason that it can't be made to work.

They are works of art when you look at them. About as art decor as you can get. Anyway, if anyone has any ideas on how the water valve work/connect, or any other info to pass along, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

Actually, the South Wind heaters,have NO flames in the cab. The unit operates with combustion sealed,and vacuumed back into the intake manifold. They are pretty efficent. As long as a good leak,free fuel connection ,is made,they are no more dangerous than the fuel tank itself. Sparky

 

mine...

 

Hey Jalopy, does anyone actually run these now-a-days as they were originally intended? Just seems dangerous to me but, it could be just my ignorance of the product. I don't want to run it like an original unit because from what I've seen, there is alot of hoses and stuff that seem like a pain in the ass to work with. Anyway, I've learn a little about them today, I have an owners manual on them and the original kit that you use to connect it to the carb but I still think I'd like to retro fit it to work like a water unit. Hope that makes since this morning. Any others?

 

Django, what kind of car is that? I saw a unit like that for sale recently but, it looked like it was too big to put in the A. That looks killer!

 

The car is a '36 Ford, but I don't know what the heater is out of originally.

 

Lane Anderson wrote an article in Rodders Digest many years ago on updating the waterheaters with new valve and fan from NAPA. I posted it here years ago but will try and scan the article and re-post it.

 

Aman,

I wanted to do the samething but I couldn't find a water coil small enough to fit in the body of the southwind. I also though about retro-fitting an electric unit in the southwind...anybody done this? Pics please.

Thanks, DD

 

I need a electric motor rebuilt or a replacement for the one I am restoring.Does anybody have a source for this Thanks

 

I used a large computer type fan. Works great. I tried to replace my motor with a 12 volt version but had no luck finding one that would fit the fan.

 

Hmmm something like this... 56 chevy pickup. Just had this one delievered last weekend.

 

Django, I was thinking about making the coil out of copper tubing. I was going to gut the Southwind, put in the coil w/valve, and put in a resistor to drop the voltage in order to keep the 6 volt fan. Does anyone see anything here that is unsafe or has anyone tried this before? Ideas, suggestions are welcome, thanks.

 

Rather than start a thread, thought I would dig this one back up and post a couple of pics during the resurrection of my old "Eureka" under dash heater. I bought it several years ago and took it to work with me and pressure tested as well as checked the motor. It is still fine. I will have to weld a bracket to it to mount it on the 34, but that will be no problem. Will update when I have it painted up and assembled.